Cannonball Jane & My Tiny Robots @ The Swamp @ Caley Backpackers

It has to be admitted, visiting Edinburgh's smaller venues to catch an obscure act is not exactly as revolutionary as catching The Ramones play the Roundhouse in London '76 but it sure can donate some adrenaline to your bloodstream. We're at the Swamp, there's a mish-mash of Spanish bar men and indie-kids from Dunfermline and you don't even have time to down your first Tennents before Drive Shaft walks on stage. Wait a minute, it's actually Dylan from My Tiny Robots who passes off as a double of that guy who played a midget in New Zeeland and subsequently crashed on that island as a dope-fiend in Lost. The fresh Edinburgh four-piece deliver some harmonic melodies that reminds you of a time when 'Indie' was jangly, fun and camp while aiming at society's knee-caps. Plentiful song-writing talent promises the wee robots a future but the band members surrounding their front-man must learn to embrace the stage rather than fearing it before they can move places(***). Headlining are NY duo Cannonball Jane who bounce onstage to early Jazzy Jeff beats before bursting into a homemade blend of calypso, punk, hip-hop and noise-art. The couple obviously forgot they'd turned middle-aged about ten years ago and charm the audience with retarded onstage theatrics in white overalls to the backdrop of wall-projections featuring space, tape-recorders and swinging people from the sixties that I swear contained my late mother - maximum points for surrealism. [Chris Nordeng]